Broken Sabre

"Broken Saber" may not be easily available nowadays (the entire series BRANDED issued on DVD in 2005), but the original 3-part episode "The Mission" certainly is. This was Chuck Connors' follow up to the highly successful THE RIFLEMAN, but only lasted two seasons due to the star's refusal to cozy up to the sponsors. The abbreviated first season of 16 episodes was in black and white, except for this one, shot in color in anticipation of feature release overseas, supposedly adding 20 minutes of new footage shot exclusively for this version only (which I have not seen). Connors' character Jason McCord was the lone survivor of an army battle with renegade Indians at Bitter Creek, where his supervisor had lost his mental acuity, a fact that McCord knows yet keeps to himself out of respect to the general's memory and his efforts to keep peace with the Apaches. Drummed out of the service for desertion, McCord is unjustly branded a coward, unwilling to clear his name yet not backing down from a fight. This 3-part storyline sees him called into service by President Ulysses Grant (William Bryant), on a secret mission to infiltrate a band of marauders working our Southern borders, retreating to safety in Mexico after conducting each outpost raid. John Carradine makes a brief appearance as Jason's grandfather Joshua McCord, one of the few who know the whole truth but aren't talking (a total of five episodes during its two season run). Among the guest stars who stand out are Macdonald Carey, Cesar Romero, Wendell Corey, Rochelle Hudson, and an especially animated Peter Breck, soon to star in THE BIG VALLEY. As a 3-part episode in color it works extremely well, ratcheting up suspense with each chapter, concluding with a delicious twist that proves more than satisfying; I can only wonder what additions were made to bolster this feature.

If the readers may permit a little intro regarding Chuck Connors in Brazil, he has just an average reputation as villain actor, tall, rough and ugly guy, nothing beyond that, in Branded series the producers withdrew three episodes called Mission and assemble in a entire picture, which exposes Capt. Jason McCord (Connors) as supposedly coward at Bitter Creek's event in past years, a court-martial assures such claim, aftermaths the former Capt. Wandering around trying proves its innocence, out of nowhere he is invited by a Senator at Washington to a hard task over rediscuss a peace treaty with the Indians, promptly denied by the righteous McCord, then came up a meeting with Pres. Ulysses a secret assignment on Texas bordering Mexico where a outlaws gang are steadily raiding the US territory, McCord's task is infiltrates in this gang to find who is the man behind.

Aside a great veteran cast as John Carradine playing his older McCord grandfather from a long generation on Army, Macdonald Carey as Senator, Cesar Romero as Mexico's Col. Ariolla, Wendell Corey as Major Whitcomb and the gorgeous Kamala Davi as his fiancé (what she saw in McCord should be matter study) also Patrick Wayne and Steve Marlo as well, the series had a poor production, a keen eye can see in several sequences, the plot is too contrived, overcame by great performance as the Mexican in jail blaming McCord all the time, he actually stolen the show for yourself, an aged Wendell Corey delivers all he can as bittered Major who lost your son at ill-fated Bitter Creek, sounds purposeful by the far-fetched screenplay, worst Capt. MacCord accepts so meekness his not guilty in Bitter Creek due his former commander is too older, therefore he didn't willing stain his track record, sounds shallow to put it mildly, overall in the same level of the series.

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First watch: 1984 / How many: 3 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 6.5.